NCSD in 1977 violated students' liberties

Michael Schwartz was a young drama teacher at the North Carolina School for the Deaf in the early months of 1977 when he discovered that the school was violating the United States Constitution by forcing all deaf students, regardless of religion, to attend a Christian church on school - state - property. The expulsion of eight children - seven who were Black - for a single infraction without due process infuriated Schwartz, and he reported the school's misconduct to the North Carolina Civil Liberties Union. The NCCLU, a state chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union, threatened to sue the school and negotiated an agreement with the state government in Raleigh to cease the compulsory religious attendance and to implement due process for students accused of breaking the rules or the law. The NCCLU's victory inspired Schwartz to become a lawyer, who now directs the Disability Rights Clinic at Syracuse University's College of Law in Syracuse, New York.